


Memories

by fangs_for_the_memories



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Memories, Some angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-13
Updated: 2015-06-13
Packaged: 2018-04-04 04:43:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4125849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangs_for_the_memories/pseuds/fangs_for_the_memories
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carmilla is feeling sentimental about her decades with Laura and her friends and takes a trip down memory lane, with unintended consequences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Memories

**Author's Note:**

> This story went through SO many versions. It originally started as a short one-shot with no actual point but once I started writing it got super long and an ending appeared. Hope you enjoy it!

Carmilla sits down at her desk and looks at a flat wooden box resting in the corner.  She briefly considers spending her time doing something else, but she doesn’t feel this nostalgic that often, so she opens the box and takes out a new device, one that’s been around for about a decade or so.  It’s definitely a passing fad, like the computer or laptop or iPad, but she had insisted they buy one anyway, as her time with Laura had made her more sentimental.

 

She sighs and looks around the empty house–– the house that she and Laura bought a little over sixty years before–– and reaches into the box.  Carmilla and Laura had struggled to stay on top of the rapidly changing technological advances over the years, but the vampire had more experience with learning new things and they were able to keep up.

This new device was similar to an iPad, but had built-in features that were controlled with buttons for functions such as a stand, with a much larger memory storage capacity, and a crisp clear display.

Laura had meant to organize the files on it years ago in chronological order, but she never did get around to it, and so the attempt at organization had long been forgotten.  They did manage to make a playlist of their earlier files. Carmilla pressed the ‘shuffle’ button on this playlist and almost immediately, videos started playing from a ‘Memory” titled ‘First Beach Outing with Carm, 2016.’

 

* * *

“Carm, come over here and take a selfie with me,” Laura giggles.  She’s in a bright blue bikini and pushes her sunglasses to the top of her head.

Carmilla groans off-screen.

“Come on, Grumpy,” Laura says, sitting down with the video still on her so that the vampire is now in frame behind her. “This is our first beach outing since the whole lophiiformes thing!”

“If this is how beach outings with you will go, then this should also be our last one,” Carmilla comments dryly, crawling over and resting her chin on Laura’s shoulder.  She’s wearing a black bikini and a sun hat.

Laura chuckles and holds out the phone to center them in the frame.  “Smile!”

Carmilla frowns.  “Cupcake, you’re taking a video.”

“The phone can do both, silly,” Laura says, kissing her girlfriend on the cheek.  “Now, you’re doing the opposite–– so, smile!”

Carmilla purposely increases her frown and Laura bursts out in laughter.

**_The video ends and cuts to another from the same day_.**

 

“What are you recording?” LaFontaine asks off-screen. There’s some rustling as the video focuses on three figures in the ocean.

Perry’s snickering is heard and LaF slowly joins as they realize what Perry is recording.

“Thought for sure you’d be lecturing them to stop,” LaF chuckles.

Carmilla and Danny are in the ocean, throwing a ball back and forth, with Laura leaping for it in the middle.

“I’m not so far gone that I don’t know how to have fun,” Perry says, hushed.  “Plus, it’s nice to see Danny and Carmilla finally doing something that doesn’t involve arguing.”

Laura’s grunts are heard.  “ _Guys_ ,” she yells. “Gimme the ball!”

Danny laughs and passes the ball over to Carmilla with ease. “Gotta try harder, Hollis.”

“I dunno, Gumby.”  Carmilla catches the ball and tosses it with one hand. “Do you think if we keep this up long enough, Cupcake might start to cry?”

Laura runs over to Danny and reaches for the ball while the tall redhead simply holds it above her.

Danny laughs as Laura’s pout grows. “Keep doing that, and your face will get stuck that way,” she teases.

Laura turns towards the camera with a huff. “Aren’t you two gonna _do_ something?”

“Oh, I am,” Perry replies with a grin. “I’m recording.”

 

Laura stomps her foot, splashing water all over herself.  Danny throws the ball back towards Carmilla, and Laura runs towards Carmilla. She doesn’t slow down as she approaches her, however, and tackles her.

“Oh dear,” Perry says as the video shows her getting up and walking towards them to see if they’re okay.

The vampire lets out a yelp as both girls fall into the ocean.

Laura props herself up as Carmilla spits out water. “You crazy creampuff,” Carmilla says with a chuckle.

Laura laughs and gets off her, grabbing the ball floating nearby.  “I got it!” she declares proudly, holding it over her head.

“Laur, you’re the person I know crazy enough to tackle a vampire over a beach ball,” LaF remarks.

Still lying in the water, Carmilla splashes the tinier girl, trying and failing to hold back laughter as Laura gasps and sputters.

 

* * *

“Is the camera on the computer from my friends working?” Laura asks from off camera.  The video is clearer than the last group.

Carmilla is in frame and rolls her eyes. “Yes, cupcake.”

“Good, now help me move these boxes,” Laura says with a grunt.

The vampire lounges back on a couch. “Maybe later.”

Laura comes into frame with her hands on her hips and stares down at her girlfriend.

“What?” Carmilla asks, batting her eyelashes innocently.

The tinier girl lets out an exasperated sigh and stomps off screen.

Carmilla’s lips curl into a smirk. “Still adorable when you make that bunched up face, cutie.”

“I don’t know why I thought you’d be less of a pain in the ass when we got our own place,” Laura comments as rustling is heard. “Stupid useless vampire.”

“You really know how to flatter a girl,” Carmilla says flippantly.

 

A loud thud is heard and Laura cries out in pain. Carmilla rushes off to her immediately and helps her to the couch in front of the camera while she hops on one foot.

Laura plops down and groans in pain. “What the holy cookie is in that box?”

Carmilla grins sheepishly.  “My books.”

“Of course it is,” Laura says, wincing.

Carmilla walks off and returns with an ice pack and hands it to Laura.

Laura takes it and gingerly places it against her foot.

The vampire bites her lip.  “Are you okay, buttercup?”

Laura laughs and gives an unprepared Carmilla a quick peck on the cheek.  “Yes, Carm, I’m fine.”

“Just stay here.  I’ll unpack the rest.”  Carmilla stands and wanders off screen and rustling is heard.

 

“Oh, sure,” Laura comments while beaming. “It only took me crushing my foot to get you to help.”

Something flies at Laura and hits her in the face, eliciting a gasp.  The pillow lands in her lap and she gapes down on it.

“ _Rude_!” Laura yells.

She throws it back and a soft thump is heard.

Laura giggles.  “Using your vamp speed to dodge is cheating, Carm!”

“When have I ever played by the rules, hon?” Carmilla chuckles.

The smaller girl’s face changes from a smile to one of horror.  “Carm, no wait! Watch out for the comp--”

 

* * *

Carmilla chuckles to herself, vaguely remembering that immediately afterwards she had bought Laura another computer to replace the one she broke so that Laura could continue vlogging and work from home for her post-grad internship when needed.

She continues onto the next group of videos titled, ‘Junior Year Pranks with LaF.’

 

* * *

The video begins with a shaky phone recording of the dorm door and shushes.  There is a knock and Laura tries to stifle some giggling before calling out, “Come in!”

Danny opens the door.  “What is it--”

The door opening tugs on a string that drops a bucket near the wardrobe, which flips a ball off a lever across the room. It lands on a dish that skids down a meter stick and hits another ball, which rolls onto a button. The button releases a rope held in tension, which sends a plate of whipped cream flying into Danny’s face.

The tall redhead lets out a scream as the tin slides off her face and onto the floor.  She hasn’t even let go of the doorknob yet.

 

LaFontaine bursts out laughing and is immediately joined by Laura.

“And that, L, is how momentum and potential energy work.”

The camera is shaking from Laura’s hand as she giggles. “I think I’m starting to get it, LaF.”

Danny stands there scowling while Laura hands her a towel.  “So glad I answered your text for this.”

Laura is still chuckling while she lets Danny enter the room, albeit carefully.

“We’ll make it up to you,” Laura says. “We can prank someone else and you can be in charge of the whole thing.”

Danny’s scowl slowly turns into a malicious grin. “Deal.  We’re pranking your girlfriend.”

_**The video ends and cuts to another a couple weeks later** _ **.**

 

The next video is taken from a camera on Laura’s computer at her desk.  The view is slightly more elevated than usual.

Laura is leaning against the wall next to Carmilla’s bed with Carmilla’s head in her lap. Danny and LaFontaine are on Laura’s bed watching a video on the latter’s laptop, trying to ignore the girl glaring at them across the room.

Laura is working on assigned reading and casually runs her fingers through her girlfriend’s hair. “Hey, Carm, can you pass me that glass of water?”

The vampire smirks up at her. “Babe, if you’re thirsty…”

Laura rolls her eyes. “Danny, can you pass me that glass of water?”

Carmilla is up in an instant and strides over to the glass of water on Laura’s desk and misses the grin Laura and Danny share.

She picks up the glass of water, not realizing that it has been placed upside down so that the water will stay inside the glass, and the water spills everywhere, except on Laura’s computer, which is a few inches above its usual location via a plastic binder.

 

Carmilla lets out a yelp and Danny doesn’t hold back her laughter.

The vampire growls and charges at the taller redhead, but Laura anticipates this and is already up and in front of the latter.

“Whoa, Carm, hold on for a second!”

Carmilla stares Laura down. “Move out of the way, cupcake!”

Laura holds up her hands.  “It  _was_  Danny’s idea to incorporate your distaste for her into a prank, and the prank  _was_  LaF’s idea because they were trying to teach me about vacuums, but _I_ let them prank you.”

Carmilla takes a threatening step towards Laura, who takes an involuntary step back.

“It was just a joke, Carm,” she says, giving a nervous laugh.

The silence stretches on before the vampire speaks, glaring into the camera.  “Next time you guys pull a prank, I want in,” she says pointedly, narrowing her eyes.  “And it’s gonna be a good one.”

“Mmhmm, sure, whatever you want,” Laura replies nervously.  She looks to the others, who give reluctant nods.

Carmilla backs off and goes to get paper towels.  “This was my favorite pair of leather pants,” she grumbles.

 

_**The video ends and cuts to another a few weeks later** _ **.**

 

The next video is once again recorded on a phone.  Carmilla is in frame walking in front of Laura, who’s shooting the video.

“LaF, are you sure you got all your explosive stuff out of the room and that Perry is even in the room?” Laura frets.

Carmilla lets out an exasperated sigh.

“Yup,” they reply behind Laura.

“What’s the point of this?” Danny asks, also behind Laura.  “The prank on me was to teach Laura about potential energy and the prank on Bagheera was about vacuums…”

“I dunno,” LaFontaine says. “We could make it a lesson about the changing concentration of the particles in the air–– ”

“We’re doing this because she always comes into our room saying it’s dirty and smells bad,” Carmilla retorts.

“Because our room  _is_  dirty and it  _does_  smell bad,” Laura comments, leading to Danny and LaF snickering behind her.

“Details,” Carmilla says dismissively.

The group reaches Perry and LaF’s room and Carmilla turns the doorknob.  “Are you guys ready to run?” she asks.

They all nod.

The vampire throws open the door, pulls a zip-tie attached to the trigger on a bottle of air freshener, throws it onto the floor, and the group runs.

 

Perry’s scream echoes down the hall, followed by a slew of profanities.

“Oh man,” LaF laughs, “I’ve  _never_  heard her curse before!”

Laura turns around so the video catches Perry popping her head into the hallway, coughing. “Get back here! I am your Don and you will respect me!” She starts running after them, fury in her eyes.

Carmilla is running towards the camera and snatches it out of Laura’s hand.  “Would you stop recording and run, you silly cupca––”

 

* * *

Carmilla snickers as the video cuts out, remembering that as ‘punishment,’ Perry and LaF slept in Laura and Carmilla’s room until the smell went away.

There were plenty more pranks over the years within the group, even in their golden years.  She was pretty sure this wouldn’t have been the case had it not been for Laura, who was just as full of life and unbridled joy, keen on finding fun and adventure in even the most mundane of times, even decades later.

Carmilla’s eyebrows furrow at the next ‘Memory,’ –– ‘New Year’s, 2018.’  _But that was the New Year’s Eve that…_

 

* * *

The video clip opens to Laura in a flashy gold top and black pants.  Danny appears in frame over Laura’s shoulder, and LaF appears over the other.

“And a picture,” Laura says, while the two redheads strike a pose.

Perry and Kirsch come running up behind the group with drinks for LaF and Danny, and everyone squeezes in for another picture.

“Where’s Carmilla?” LaF asks.

Laura shrugs as the group starts to disperse to go out of frame.

“Aw, sweetie.  Are you guys still fighting?” Perry asks.

Laura shrugs again and frowns. “When she said she needed some space a couple days ago, I didn’t think she’d mean past New Year’s Eve.”

“She’ll come back in time, Laura. She’d be stupid not to,” Danny says with a wink.  “Well, I mean… stupid _er_.”

“Yeah.”  Laura gives a half-hearted chuckle.  “I’m, uh, gonna get myself a drink.  See you guys around?”

Kirsch, Danny, LaFontaine, and Perry wave goodbye to her.

**_The video ends and cuts to later that night_.**

 

The video shows Laura, sitting alone at the edge of a rooftop, with a drink sloppily sloshing over the hand not holding her phone.

“Wow, Carm, is this what I’m reduced to?” she asks, slurring.  “You ignore my texts and calls with like, minutes to go to midnight?  And now I’m making a video to send to you and I don’t even know why.”  She sniffles. “I can’t even remember what we’re fighting about.”  She laughs dryly. “That could be from the fact that this is like, my third drink after taking a couple shots, though.”

There’s loud laughter in the party inside behind her and Laura turns to listen to it for a bit before staring up at the sky.

“There’s so many stars out right now,” she says, taking a shaky breath.  “I miss you, Carm.”

“Miss you too, cutie,” says a voice from behind her. Laura turns around and Carmilla sits next to her on the ledge.

 

Laura gapes at the vampire.

“You’re, uh, not about to do anything stupidly dramatic here, are you?”

She scoffs.  “I just wanted to get away from all the couples making out and got tired of standing, that’s all.”

Carmilla gives her a small smile. “You look amazing tonight, Laura.”

“And you look timely.”  Laura kisses her on the cheek and looks at Carmilla in her lacy black top and leather pants.  “And also amazing.”

“I can’t remember what we fought about either, cutie,” Carmilla says softly.  “But I went to clear my head in the forest and there wasn’t any cell reception. I just got all your messages about five minutes ago.”  She leans her forehead against Laura’s forehead.  “I’m sorry if you thought I was gonna leave you alone on New Year’s Eve.”

 

Laura pulls away and grins.  “The important thing is that we’re here together now. And on video!”

Carmilla rolls her eyes.  “Gimme that,” she snaps, trying to snatch it from Laura’s hand.

Laura laughs and leans back to try to keep the phone away from her, but loses her balance on the ledge.  Her eyes widen as she realizes she isn’t able to catch herself.

With a squeak she falls off the ledge and the video shows her plummeting towards the ground.  There’s a quick blur of movement that passes by the camera and a loud thud as Laura lands in Carmilla’s arms.

Laura lets out a nervous laugh as Carmilla gently lowers her to the ground.

“Thanks for saving me, Carm,” Laura says.

The vampire narrows her eyes. “I only did it so I would have someone to kiss on New Year’s,” she teases.

Laura swats her.  “Well, you also saved my phone, so…”  She grins and holds the phone out.  “Smile!”

Before they can take the picture, they hear the countdown begin around them.

“10… 9… 8… ”  Carmilla smiles and pulls her tiny human to her.

Laura gets the phone ready to take the picture. “3… 2… 1!”

Carmilla snatches the phone out of Laura’s hand and the video ends.

 

* * *

The video is the clearest one yet, opening to a much older Laura.  She seems to be in her late twenties or early thirties.

“Ta da!” she declares proudly. “Carm and I bought a house!”

Carmilla walks into frame from behind her. “Complete with more doors for this knucklehead to _not_ lock, so her friends can come barging in,” she retorts.

“Oh, please.  _Our_ friends.”

Carmilla looks dramatically above her in fear. “Oh, sorry, I thought Hell froze over.” She sits down next to Laura. “Because that’s when I’ll call them my friends, too.”

 

Laura rolls her eyes.  “Well _our_ friends just helped us move in, so be nice.”

A more mature-looking Danny, Kirsch, LaFontaine, and Perry enter the room from an entrance different from the one Carmilla used.

“Sweet digs,” LaF says.

Perry rolls her eyes.  “Oh, you’re just saying that because you helped them find this place.”

“Can’t I just ask for everyone to give credit where credit is due?” they tease.

 

“Bros, the backyard is _huge_ , though!  We could have so many barbeques here!”  Kirsch looks like an excited child.

Danny laughs.  “And this living room is perfect for a nice Christmas tree–– and a menorah–– for us to continue our annual holiday parties!”

“I’m so glad you’re all so _dedicated_ to coming up with ideas for what _you_ can do with _our_ house,” Carmilla snaps.

“Ignore her.”  Laura giggles.  “Come on, guys, sit down! I wanna take a group picture!”

Perry and LaF sit next to Carmilla, while Danny and Kirsch push a loveseat next to the four-person couch.  Laura gets up and moves the camera attached to the computer off of it and settles it on something farther for a wider shot.

Perry frowns.  “Are you sure it’s safe balancing on the fireplace ledge like that?”

There’s some rustling as Laura centers the frame. “Yep!”

She sets a timer and runs to her seat, wrapping her arm around Carmilla.

 

After the picture is taken, Laura bounds back over to the camera.  “Who wants some snacks? I mean, right now all we have are cookies…”

“Of course you do, Hollis,” Danny remarks, leading to laughter.

 

* * *

The video ends and Carmilla stops the playlist, going back to the part when the picture is taken and smiles at the paused video.

The group looks older when compared to the other videos in the playlist, but much younger than they are in her memories. _I’d much rather remember them like this_ , she muses.

 

Carmilla checks the time and it is still relatively early–– for her, anyway.  She starts adding more files to the playlist, going through them chronologically. The house from the last Memory is the house she’s currently sitting in, since she and Laura never saw a point in leaving it.

That Memory was also the most recent one, which Laura made a point of including.  Carmilla smiles as she sees pictures from their trip to the Bahamas right before her senior year, and New York to celebrate graduation, and the dozens of others that followed.

 

She finds a video of another time she went on a trip to clear her head and returned to find that Laura had changed the entire house into a warzone for them to play laser tag in to cheer her up. The video is shot from a GoPro camera on Laura’s head and ends with the vampire teasing her for acting like a child in her late twenties.

She finds pictures of Laura starting her first major job after Silas.

Carmilla looks at Memories of the small weekend soccer and softball games she set up so they could stay in touch with LaF, Perry, Danny, Kirsch, and the others from their years at Silas. The games continued well into the group’s golden years.

She laughs at the random candid videos of Perry and LaF bickering in their eighties, and at ones of Danny and Kirsch doing the same.

Carmilla finds pictures of various gatherings at their house, through parties and holidays.

Through all of the Memories, she focuses on Laura, who never loses the fire in her eyes in any of the pictures throughout the years, or the warmth in her smile.

 

Then Carmilla realizes she’s made a mistake in going through the files chronologically, and perhaps why Laura never finished organizing them herself.

 

She skims through pictures of the group gathering for Kirsch’s funeral… then Danny’s… then LaFontaine’s… then Perry’s…

And with each funeral, Laura’s smile becomes slightly dimmer and her eye’s darken a little bit more. 

Carmilla’s heart sinks when she realizes that after the last funeral, Laura’s propensity for taking pictures and videos decreased. There are barely any pictures of her past her hundredth birthday.

 

She wipes away a tear and replays the playlist to relive the happier times.

 

* * *

The vampire opens the door, enters the house, and closes it. She places down the bags she’s carrying in the kitchen before popping her head into the living room.

 

“Whatcha up to?” she asks.

Carmilla turns around and gives her a smile. “Hey, cupcake.”

Laura walks over and sits down next to the other vampire. “Are you okay? You look like you’ve been crying.”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”  Carmilla wipes her face.  “I was just watching a bunch of the videos on this thing.”

Laura looks mildly shocked and laughs. “I almost forgot we had it.” She quickly scans over the playlist. “Gosh, I was so young!”

Carmilla laughs.  “You’re still young.”

“Yeah,” Laura replies with a chuckle, “only because I got turned into a vampire when I was thirty.”  She gives Carmilla a playful swat.  “Even though _someone_ didn’t want me to.”

Carmilla nods and bites her lip. “This _someone_ also gave you a lotta grief over the years about that need of yours to document everything that borders the pathological.”

Laura giggles.  “I can also think about a lotta other things you gave me grief about over the years, Carm.”

Carmilla sighs and looks like she’s about to cry again.

 

“Hey,” Laura says lightly, pulling her into a one-armed hug.  “What’s wrong?”

Carmilla huffs and leans her head on Laura’s shoulder. “I miss them.”

“Who?”

“Your little band of idiots.  I miss LaF.  I miss Perry. I miss that puppy. Hell, I even miss Danny.”

Laura gives her a knowing look and a small smile. “I do, too.”

“And they’re the first group of mortals I ever got attached to.”

“I know.”

“And now they’re dead and we’re still here.”

Laura pauses and kisses her temple. “I know.” 

Carmilla sniffles.  “Laura, I am so sorry.”

“About what?”  Laura frowns.

 

“About giving you such a hard time about all the videos and all the pictures over the years.  If it wasn’t for you taking all of them, we wouldn’t be able to replay them now to remember our friends.”

Laura grins.

“What?”

“You called them ‘our friends,’” Laura points out happily.

“Yeah, yeah, well, I guess Hell has better things to do than freeze over.”

Laura laughs.  “Well, you don’t have to apologize for anything, Carm.” Laura smiles and squeezes Carmilla.

A few moments pass by in silence.

 

“I know I’m being a sentimental idiot, but may I ask you to do something for me?” Carmilla finally asks quietly.

“Anything for my sentimental idiot,” Laura answers with a smirk.

“Can we take more pictures and videos? We kinda stopped after everyone… passed away.”  Carmilla gently peels herself from Laura’s embrace.  “We have an eternity together and I don’t wanna forget a moment of it.”

“Of course.”  Laura kisses Carmilla on the cheek.  “And while we’re indulging in old habits, may I ask you to do something for me?”

Carmilla raises an eyebrow quizzically.

 

Laura leads her to the kitchen and reaches into the bag of things she bought while she went out.

She pulls out a package of cookies.

“Help me eat this?”  Laura blinks at Carmilla innocently.

Carmilla laughs.  “You dork.”

 

Later that night, they upload the newest picture file to the device–– a photo of them with their faces covered in cookie crumbs while an empty container of cookies lay nearby.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
